COMMUNIST YOUTH ORGANIZATION HOLDS PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000257 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV, IO/UNP, R, PA/OA ¶E. O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR PHUM PREL OPRC MOPS VM IZ SUBJECT: COMMUNIST YOUTH ORGANIZATION HOLDS PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION AGAINST IRAQ WAR ¶1. Summary: The HCMC Youth Union organized a boisterous, but peaceful demonstration by more than 5000 high school and college students at the District One Youth Center on March 17. The rally featured speakers and musical performances to appeal to the kind of young audience which frequents the Youth Center for cultural events. Part of an ongoing peaceful campaign of mass organization demonstrations against going to war in Iraq, the two-hour gathering was well planned and organized, and received extensive national press coverage. End summary. ¶2. The Youth Center, located just two blocks from the U.S. Consulate, was packed with young people carrying banners made of red bunting lettered with anti-war slogans, as well as cut-out letters spelling N-O-W-A-R, and hand-drawn posters with images and slogans in English like, "Peace For Iraq", "No War", and "Stop Bombing." The mood was boisterous, as protestors jumped up and down and swayed their signs to the beat of the music, but under control. The rally started at 6:00 pm and ended promptly at 8:00 pm, with participants collecting piles of white birds folded from paper, symbolizing peace. ¶3. As with other demonstrations we have seen (reftel) -- demonstrations in Vietnam are almost always organized by Communist Party mass organizations, like the Youth Union -- the speeches outlined Vietnam's oft-repeated anti-war policy. The event was filmed by the national television station and carried by the three newspapers with the largest readership in Vietnam (Saigon Giai Phong, Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre). ¶4. On March 18, ConGen received a fax from the Fatherland Front Committee of the province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau addressed to the governments of the U.S. and the U.K. The letter said that the people of Ba Ria-Vung Tau had suffered during the Vietnam War and empathized with the people of Iraq. The Committee had organized a meeting the day before and decided to send this letter advocating the same points raised in reftel, as well as asking for an end to the economic embargo against Iraq and more time for the UN weapons inspections team to ensure that Iraq complies with UNSCR 1441. ¶5. Comment: This is not the first example of the Communist Party of Vietnam organizing a demonstration to show public support for its policy positions, but it seemed to be one of the more genuine outpourings of peaceful concern. Nearly 70 percent of the population of Ho Chi Minh City is under 30 years-old, and most students can easily be mobilized to attend these events through school networks and busing. In this case, many of the banners were in English, though next day press reports noted only two Westerners in attendance. In a country where opportunities for public expression are extremely limited and orchestrated, this may have been one occasion where GVN official policy actually reflected sentiments close to the students' own. YAMAUCHI